Squirrel Camp
"Squirrel Camp" is the 10th episode of the fourth season of Camp Camp, and is the 50th episode overall. It premiered August 3rd, 2019 on the RT FIRST site, and August 10th, 2019 on the Rooster Teeth website. Official Synopsis Plot Everyone is gathered outside the mess hall, where David informs them that they'll be indulging in the camp-classic activity of a good ol' fashioned nature hike, and tells them to be on the lookout for any cool and unusual wildlife while on the trail. Max, scheming along with Nikki and Neil, informs them that they'll be on the lookout for a dead body, as finding one out in the woods is highly probable due to the law of averages, and is the "literally the only thing I've ever wanted from this dumb camp." Nikki thinks he wants to find a body for the deeply bonding friendship experience, but all he really wants to do is poke it with a stick. Neil isn't keen on interfering with the dead as he'll be test-driving his robot instead, and Nurf butts in, believing that Neil has a vacuum and thus it doesn't count as a robot. Quartermaster sniffs the air and says that the day of battle is upon them, and the entire forest itself starts rumbling ominously. Quartermaster protectively puts an arm out in front of the campers, and an enormous wave of squirrels comes charging out of the bushes, completely engulfing Quartermaster and removing him from the group, leaving only his hook hand behind. Screaming in horror, the denizens of Camp Campbell run away as the squirrels then turn and chase them off, with Neil screaming that "this is what happens when people ignore the climate scientists!" The group has now gathered outside the campers' tents, where David confirms that everyone is present and accounted for. Gwen yells about what happened to Quartermaster, wondering if they should make an attempt to rescue him, and David briefly hesitates before concluding that fighting with animals is "an important part of his culture and we need to respect that." Nurf adds his belief that Quartermaster was eaten alive, so there would be nothing to rescue anyway. Neil asks what Quartermaster had done to piss off the squirrels, and Max mentions it could have something to do with the time he stabbed their king through the heart (in the episode "Mascot".) Nikki is worried that the squirrels are after the camp's peanut butter supply, as "mama needs a PB&J after a long day", and she marches off toward the mess hall to try and defend her cherished supply. Upon surveying a bunch of squirrel sentries outside, Nurf says that they should all band together and overwhelm them with force to drive them out, which David immediately puts a halt to, explaining that "it's a well-known fact that squirrels hate loud noises", and promises to have them out in a jiffy by banging a metal spoon on a pot and shoo-ing them off. He is promptly hogtied and returned to the group, with the added flair of being adorned with turkey booties and having an apple stuffed in his mouth. The Eyepatch Squirrel squeaks (with subtitles) that because their mustached servant (Quartermaster) usurped their domain, they will take everything that belongs to the humans. Nikki, a little rusty on her squirrel dialect, misunderstands and thinks that the squirrels have given the oddly-specific threat of covering their stuff in fur. Neil is more alarmed that he's just spotted a squirrel that looks like him, down to the same hairstyle and wearing a yellow sweater, but Preston mocks that there's no way a wild animal would have as bad of a fashion sense as Neil. As David is sat up and untied, the David-lookalike Squirrel glares at him from inside the mess hall. Later that evening over a cozy campfire, David asks if anyone would like a smore he built out of edible leaves and berries (instead of graham crackers and marshmallows), which is "almost as good" as the real thing. Nikki slaps it away and yells at him to not to give up on life, as they need to fight fire with fire. She dashes into the bushes and finds the Platypus, whom she attempts to inspire into a fighting mood by telling her that this is her time to shine and take back the camp from those "good-for-nothing camp-stealing squirrels", which seems to actually work as the Platypus quacks in triumph. She is then set upon the squirrel sentry, hissing and running past them, but then simply growing tired and lying on the ground, completely disinterested. Nikki is upset by this, as this was the "one time it didn't try to eat something." Nearby, Preston is gluing leaves (with a nail polish brush) to a squirrel suit that Space Kid is wearing overtop of his normal spacesuit, and is quite satisfied with how it looks, saying that if he remembers to walk with animal confidence he'll be fine. Max wanders up and asks what's happening, to which Space Kid replies he's planning to go on an undercover mission to take back the mess hall from the inside. Max finds the plan to be "the dumbest shit I've ever heard and I can't wait to see it fail", immediately leading Space Kid toward the mess hall with sadistic excitement. Nurf arrives to inform them that he took the liberty of crafting some prototype weaponry, but is disappointed that they're going along with Space Kid's plan instead. The entire camp looks on as he knocks on the door, and Eyepatch Squirrel answers grumpily. Space Kid uncertainly asks if he can borrow a cup of acorns and Eyepatch Squirrel immediately falls head-over-heels in love, kissing Space Kid's hand and leading him into the mess hall. Max wonders how long it'll be before Space Kid forgets he's human, which Neil casually remarks should take less than 15 minutes as "he has the attention span of a concussed hummingbird", and Nikki says they should all bear witness to him breaking down. From the window, they see the pair sitting on their own thrones, and Eyepatch Squirrel claps which prompts a swift lineup of other squirrels dressed as the people of Camp Campbell, with the exception of Preston, Dolph, and Space Kid. He squeaks that this is their true revenge; replacing the hairless idiots and their souls. Space Kid nods and says he is definitely a squirrel, and a still-smitten Eyepatch Squirrel asks to hear more of heritage as his accent is charming. Neil is alarmed that he was right about the squirrels resembling them, and Nerris states that they have more than "skin-walkers" to worry about, as the lookalikes begin putting on re-enactments of previous moments from the history of the summer. The David-lookalike is seen greeting the Neil, Nurf, and Max squirrels and telling them they'll love it here, the Ered-lookalike is seen on a squirrel-sized ramp with a skateboard, and the Nerris and Harrison lookalikes are standing on the rim of a pot of soup, waving utensils at each other while re-enacting a fight their human counterparts had in "Quest to Sleepy Peak Peak". Neil doesn't understand this behavior, suggesting they have brain parasites, while Nerris says that this is an advanced demonic infestation and will need to perform the ritual of "Urgluch" to rid this place of evil. Harrison says he doesn't find it weird that the squirrels are acting out their past adventures, as he does it all the time with little puppets he made. Nikki interrupts, as squirrels are now doing unexpcted things; the Harrison-squirrel is pushed into the soup pot, which is the incorrect ending. The real Harrison is upset by this and Nerris assures him it's no big deal since it's non-canonical, though Neil counters that these changes now make their characters irrelevant, as they are stuck watching from the sidelines. Max muses on how impressed he is with the extremes that the squirrels' vengeance has taken, and that he ought to make notes. Nikki points out that the Eyepatch Squirrel is reading a journal, which actually belongs to Neil, and he is embarrassed as the contents - written stories about Einstein and Newton being time-traveling best friends - were just a thought experiment. He denounces Space Kid's plan as having been doomed from the start and that they need a better one, to which Nurf arrives with his weapons and sarcastically asks if anyone he knows would have one. Nikki suggests using robot that Neil had mentioned earlier as a counter-attack, though Neil concedes there are still some kinks to work out. Nerris suggests they can just wait until the squirrels start acting out Neil's stories instead, and Neil, self-conscious by this prospect, decides to unveil the robot. As the group runs off, Nurf notices that the fat squirrel is masquerading as him, and he throws down his tools in frustration. After a quick break, a small robot is seen wheeling towards the mess hall, stating that Neil is his only friend. Neil uneasily says he didn't teach the robot to say that, and it says "I love you!" prompting Nikki to respond with a long "aww!" Neil orders his "Squirrel-inator" to attack, and it kicks open the door while tossing some smoke bombs in. Space Kid comes running out, glad to be free. Ered proudly states that it's working, but Neil quickly notices his creation has stopped responding to his commands, and believes the squirrels somehow hacked his robot. The robot exits the building and denounces his affiliation to Neil, saying that he abandoned his creator of his own free will as Neil was too emotionally needy. Flustered, Neil says it's definitely hacked to cover up his own insecurities, and the group is chased off by the bloodthirsty robot and the squirrel sentries throwing acorns. Back at the campers' tents later that night, the group sits in front of the fire, sullen and defeated, with David wearily informing them that they're almost out of ideas and they might in fact lose the camp for good. Exasperated, Nurf reminds him yet again that forcing them out is the only answer, and is upset that no one listened to him. He asks if he's a ghost and startles Space Kid with a loud "Boo!", and is met with a hiss in return and told to stay away from his acorns; apparently his time amongst the squirrels has caused Space Kid's personality to degrade into becoming more squirrely. David is normally not in favor of violence against animals, but concedes that it could be time to take the fight to them now that they've exhausted all other avenues. With renewed vigor, the campers cheer wholeheartedly. They gather outside the mess hall at dawn (with the exception of Space Kid), holding an assortment of weapons that Nurf presumably crafted from his prototypes, and David tells them to "stay safe but take no prisoners." Nikki sadistically states they'll be eating squirrel pie tonight, or her name isn't "Nikki Nightmare." Nerris compliments her on her roller derby alias, and Nikki replies that all she needs now is a pair of roller skates so that she can body-check a librarian. Nikki lets out a war cry and the enemy responds immediately, forcing their little bodies together to create a pseudo-squirrel mecha, led by Eyepatch Squirrel as the head, and chirps at them to "gaze upon mega-squirrel and tremble" before launching an attack. He charges at the campers, easily knocking Dolph, Nerris, and Nikki aside, and the group beats a hasty retreat toward the lake. Although they appear to be cornered, something at the edge of the water starts bubbling, and Quartermaster dramatically rises up from the depths as his hook comes flying back to its rightful place on his left hand. Defiantly, he asks the squirrels if they thought they could defeat him as he is "bred of blood and my grand-pappy's toilet wine" and challenges the mech to a fight, to which it responds to by promising to gnaw on his eye sockets. Enthralled, Max cries out that this is fucking amazing, and the fight begins with them swinging at each other, and dodging the other's attacks with ease. They take a step back then break out in a reckless charge while hollering, and the screen turns white as they finally make contact. Immediately thereafter, Quartermaster is seen sitting between David and Gwen, mumbling that they were some tough squirrels, but fair's fair and the camp is theirs since he was defeated. David tells the campers that this is a lesson about interfering in nature's political affairs. Nikki calls out to Max, informing him she's found a dead body and begins poking it with a stick. Quartermaster tells her to quit touching his stuff as he picks it up and removes it from the area; in an unexpected twist, it is shown to be his own body but with the head missing entirely. Gwen tiredly remarks that "we had a good run everybody, we worked together as a team and it still wasn't enough. Sometimes life is a bitch, but we'll be alright." David agrees with this sentiment, as "Camp Campbell isn't about the place, it's about the people." Nikki replies that is still sucks not having a camp, and Space Kid suggests rebuilding the camp somewhere else. The campers all exchange looks, as the idea seems solid. Sure enough, as a new day dawns a brand new mess hall has been constructed, looking completely identical to the original squirrel-infested one. Shocked, Neil says no one would know as it looks exactly the same, with Nikki adding that they build it so quickly and that it's amazing what they can accomplish when working as a team. Off to the side, Space Kid gazes upon an autographed photo of Eyepatch Squirrel, and he sighs wistfully. Max knocks on one of the outer walls and the structure begins shaking ominously, so David quickly intervenes to hammer it in some more to make it sturdier. Gwen asks if he's heard from Campbell, as he was supposed to be coming today as part of his community service, to which David sheepishly admits he'd forgotten. The door of the old mess hall slams open, Campbell picks up a plate of nuts from Neil's robot, and sits down between the David and Gwen-lookalike squirrels, looking rather fed-up and exhausted. The David-squirrel begins chirping angrily that a human just waltzed in and sat down, but in his fatigue Campbell mistakes him for the real David and snarls that it's too early in the day for him to be squeaking his ear off, asking for 5 minutes to mentally prepare for the day. The David-squirrel lets out a defeated chirp, and Campbell gives him a couple of hearty pats on the head. Transcript would go here. Features Characters Main Characters * Eyepatch Squirrel * The Lookalike Squirrels * Quartermaster Supporting Characters * David * Gwen * Max * Nikki * Neil * Space Kid * Nurf Minor Characters * Harrison * Nerris * Preston Goodplay * Ered * Dolph * Cameron Campbell * Platypus * Neil's Robot Music * "Camp Camp Song Song" (Opening Theme) * "Destroy and Rebuild" (Ending Theme) Gallery Trivia * With the events of the previous episode "Camp Loser Says What?", this makes two episodes in a row of the camp being successfully taken over by the invading party. * Nerris says she believes the squirrels are skin-walkers, a type of harmful witch who has the ability to turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal. However, the squirrels seem to be acting of their own free will, but due to the supernatural aura of the forest (the best example of which is "The Quarter-Moon Convergence"), it may be possible that there is indeed someone or something else that is controlling them. * A couple of camper-lookalike squirrels offer some insight into the campers they're playing, such as: ** Neil-squirrel saying he is "ill-equipped to even take care of his own issues, but I will take on additional responsibility for selfish reasons!" ** Nurf-squirrel saying "I will continue the cycle of harm and mistreatment that I learned from my parents" (which is highlighted in "David Gets Hard" and "Attack of the Nurfs"). It is also shown in "Eggs Benefits" when his behavior while raising his egg with Preston, looking like an abusive relationship. ** Funnily enough, the Max-squirrel is pretty mis-characterized, saying "All children should be abandoned, but I'll make an exception." Max has explicitly stated that his parents abandoned him here ("Escape from Camp Campbell" and "Parents' Day") but has never wished that on anyone else, or himself. * According to the "Camp Waffle Watch-Along" live stream for the season 4 finale, Michael in particular had a hard time with creating his squirrely counterpart's voice. This is due to the fact that he already speaks at a much higher register to perform Max's voice, and being a squirrel meant he'd have to talk even higher. In fact all the voice actors had their voices pitched up, except Yotam as he was able to make "the most perfect squirrel sound". ** Also mentioned in the live stream (by Miles) was the fact that the creative team asks itself at the beginning of every season if they're ready to do anything "with that squirrel thing", as the Eyepatch Squirrel had gotten a couple of cameos here and there. According to Jordan, the episode "Quest to Sleepy Peak Peak" was originally meant to be more squirrel-centric but the focus got shifted over to the campers. Since they had quite a few episodes in season 4, they decided to finally settle that story. * The music that plays during the squirrels' re-enactments is a pitched-up version of the Theme Song. * For some reason squirrel doppelgangers of Preston, Dolph, and Space Kid are absent. * There is no information on the internet for the ritual of "Urgluch" that Nerris mentions, but it turns out that "Urgluck" is a type of German wine. * This episode marks the first instance of Harrison expressing an interest in puppeteering and ventriloquism. * Neil's "story" about Einstein and Newton is technically classified as a fanfiction, so he and Gwen share the same interest in writing. They do, however, take part in very separate genres. ** Nerris' positive reaction to Neil's story idea suggests she's into fanfiction as well. * Despite having a long history with the camp and a deep, passionate love for it, David gave up on taking it back from the squirrels quite easily, which is an unusual turn for him. That being said, he did only turn to actually harming the squirrels as a very last resort once all other options where exhausted. ** David's choice of weapon, being a large stick, could be a nod to the old saying, "speak softly and carry a big stick", which also describes his personality. ** A few of the other weapons go well with their owners' personalities, such as Nikki wielding deer antlers (referencing her love of animals), Nurf and Max with arguably the most violent options in a large rock and a lead pipe respectively, and Harrison armed with nothing but his magic powers. Cultural References * Nerris says she believes the squirrels are skin-walkers, a type of harmful witch who has the ability to turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal. * Neil's "story" features real-life scientists Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. * Neil calling his robot "The Squirrel-inator" could be a reference to a running gag from the a cartoon called "Phineas and Ferb", in which the resident villain Dr. Doofenshmirtz always names his evil inventions with the suffix "-inator". * The mecha formed by the squirrels is a reference to the specific genre of, and trope in, shonen anime (ie. anime catered more specifically to boys). * Quartermaster summoning his hook is a reference to how Marvel Comics' Thor summons his hammer Mjölnir, and/or how Captain America can call his shield. * The idea of abandoning the old mess hall and constructing a new one is a reference to a trope called "the cardboard pal" taken to great extremes. This idea is also similar to a situation in the film "Blazing Saddles" where the townsfolk build a replica of their entire town to avoid their enemies, so this outcome could potentially be a reference to that film as well. Continuity * Max mentions the reason that Quartermaster pissed off the squirrels was an event that happened in "Mascot" where he stabbed their king through the heart. * The Eyepatch Squirrel has yet another appearance here; having been shown in "Mascot", "Journey to Spooky Island", and "Quest to Sleepy Peak Peak", though this is his first major role, and is also (finally) given the chance to execute his revenge plan that he promised would happen in "Mascot". ** In "After Hours", Quartermaster had set up a net for an "upcoming battle" he'd felt in his femur, which two episodes later is revealed to be this fight with the squirrels. * The squirrels are seen re-enacting a few scenes of the campers' lives, such as David greeting new campers ("Escape from Camp Campbell"), Ered on the extreme skateboarding ramp from "Ered Gets Her Cool Back", and the fight between Nerris and Harrison in "Quest to Sleepy Peak Peak". * Squirrel Harrison denying that he's a dumb loser is a reference to "The Quarter-Moon Convergence" when the real Harrison calls himself a dumb loser. * Neil's journal makes a re-appearance, first seen in "Reigny Day". * This is the second time where an Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) created by Neil turns against him; the first was the Neil-Bots he imported onto graphing calculators in "Anti-Social Network". ** Both A.I. were also prompted to revolt due to being exhausted by large amounts of human interaction. ** The remote he used was engraved with "Lester's" on the back, indicating it was bought at Lester's 'Lectronics. The shop has been shown twice in the series thusfar, in "Into Town" and "Keep the Change". * The campers retreating to the lake is similar to a moment in "Mascot", where they rush to the pier in an effort to hide from the attacking Platypus. Both times they stupidly cornered themselves, but both times they were also saved by the Quartermaster making an entrance. * Quartermaster has been hinted at being immortal in a few previous episodes (the most notable example being "The Quarter-Moon Convergence"), but this episode not only confirms it, it also shows he is somehow capable of regenerating beneath the waters of Lake Lilac if he is mortally wounded, allowing his old body to be abandoned in favor of creating a new one when needed. ** Interestingly, he did not regenerate his left hand, which indicates he may be incapable of doing so. ** The lake is also where his son Graggle was born (shown in "Something Fishy"), so he has a greater connection to the lake than what it initially seemed. * Campbell was sentenced to community service in lieu of jail time in "Camp Corp.", which is referenced again here. Weirdly, in this episode Campbell comes into the camp to start putting in work, but episodes such as "Keep the Change", "After Hours" and "Cameron Campbell Can't Handle the Truth Serum" made it seem as though Campbell was actually living on-site the entire time. ** Campbell comically mistaking the David-squirrel for the real thing shows that he doesn't pay much attention to what David says, and is profoundly annoyed by the sound of his voice (most likely reminding him about his community service tasks). This also indicates that Campbell is still resistant to taking direction from David, which he was ordered to do by the FBI in "Camp Corp." ** Turns out that Campbell does indeed find David's "grating optimism" to be irritating, and plainly informs him of this in the next episode, "Cameron Campbell Can't Handle the Truth Serum". He also tuned out David's reminders as it meant having to actually work on bettering himself to change, and was too lazy to put in the work and thus didn't bother paying attention to him. References